Research

Professional Organizations

• Member of the Global Agenda Council on Advanced Manufacturing, World Economic Forum (2011-2012).
• Member of the World Conference on Transport Research Society.
• Member of the International Association of Maritime Economists.
• Member of the American Association of Geographers.
• Member of the North American Transport Competitiveness Research Council.
• Associate member of the PortEconomics.eu initiative.
• Member of the National Council for Geographic Education.
• Fellow of the American Geographical Society.
• Member of the Sustainable Transport in Europe and Links and Liaisons with America (STELLA) network.
• Member of the Sustainable Transportation Analysis and Research (STAR) Network.
• Fellow of the Commission on Marine Geography, International Geographical Union.

Research Themes

The Governance of Intermodal Transportation Assets (current)

• Investigating public and private roles and strategies in the setting and maintenance of global freight distribution systems. The role of global equity firms, terminal operators and shipping companies in global supply chains. The financing and integrity of global supply chains.

The Transport Geography of Logistics and Global Production Networks (current)

• Investigating conceptual and empirical aspects behind the emerging geography of logistics and freight distribution. Particular issues involve global production networks, international / regional freight distribution, location within complex multinational supply chains, green/reverse logistics and sustainability.

Gateways, Corridors and Inland Freight Distribution (current)

• Investigating the relationships between major transport gateways and regional / urban freight distribution. Specific aspects involve inland terminals, rail transportation, the logistics industry, distribution centers and distribution clusters.

Globalization and Transport Terminals (current)

• Investigating the impacts of globalization processes on transport terminals, notably maritime and rail terminals and freight distribution centers. Involves the regionalization of hinterlands, economic cycles and international trade.

Tools for Spatial Analysis of Transport Systems (current)

• Investigating applied issues of online geographical education. Received several contracts to develop thematic information on the World Wide Web, notably Transport Geography and Global Economy. Applying multimedia tools in the classroom by developing multimedia lectures and online information accessible to students.

Transportation, Land Use and the Urban Environment (1998-2001)

• Part of a project funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) about transportation research and education in China. Mainly responsible of environmental issues of the transport sector in view of fast urban development, economic change and the promotion of urban sustainability.

Mega-Urban Regions in East and Southeast Asia (1992-1996)

• Joint project between Université de Montréal and the University of British Columbia funded by the Social Sciences Research Council of Canada. The spatial organization of Pacific Asian urban regions in view of increasing local and regional integration to the global economy. Expanded the concepts of transportation corridors, gateways, socio-economic change and regional urbanization.

New Methodologies for Transportation / Land Use Modeling and Planning (1990-1995)

• Investigated issues and prospects of knowledge-based methods in transportation / land use modeling and planning. This included GIS, neural networks, fuzzy sets, semantic networks and decision support systems.

Affiliations

• 2011-2012, IFSTTAR (Institut français des sciences et technologies des transports, de l'aménagement et des réseaux), SPLOTT (Systèmes Productifs, Logistique, Organisation des Transports, et Travail) research unit. Visiting Professor.
• 2011, Université de Lyon 2, Laboratoire d'Economie des Transports (LET). Visiting Professor.
• 2010- PortEconomics.eu initiative, Associate member.
• 2009- Institut National de Recherche sur les Transports et leur Sécurité (INRETS), Laboratoire Systemes Productifs, Logistique, Organisation des Transports et Travail (SPLOTT). Visiting Professor.
• 2007- Van Horne Institute, University of Calgary. Van Horne Researcher in Transportation and Logistics.
• 2006- Institute of Transport and Maritime Management Antwerp (ITMMA), University of Antwerp, Belgium. Visiting Faculty.
• 2005- University Transportation Research Center, Region II, City University of New York, New York, USA. Affiliated Faculty.
• 2005- Maritime Infrastructure Engineering and Management Program (MIEM), Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT), Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA. Affiliated Faculty.
• 2003-2005, Gilbert M. Grosvenor Center for Geographic Education (GCGE), Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas, USA. Fellow (Project: online Center for Global Geography Education (CGGE))
• 1994-2002, Centre for Research on Transportation (CRT), Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, CANADA.
  • Invited Researcher, 1999-2002 (Project: Urban Transport and the Environment in China.)
  • Post Doctoral Research Fellow, 1994-1997 (Project: Maritime Transportation in a Global Economy.)
  • Research Assistant, 1989-1992.
• 1998- Centre d’Études sur l’Asie de l’Est (CETASE) / East Asian Studies Centre, Université de Montréal, Québec, CANADA. Adjunct Professor.

Peer Reviewer

• Journal of Transport Geography (International Editorial Board).
• Journal of Transport and Land Use (International Editorial Board).
• Cahiers Scientifiques du Transport (International Editorial Board).
• New York Transportation Journal (Senior Contributor).
• Asia Pacific Viewpoint.
• Economic Geography.
• Environment and Planning A.
• Geographical Research: Journal of the Institute of Australian Geographers.
• Geographical Systems.
• Geojournal.
• Growth and Change.
• International Journal of Sustainable Transportation.
• International Journal of Transport Economics.
• International Journal of Urban and Regional Research.
• Journal of Urbanism.
• Journal of Urban Affairs.
• Journal of Urban Technology.
• Networks and Spatial Economics.
• Professional Geographer.
• Regional Studies.
• Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography.
• Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie (Journal of Economic and Social Geography).
• Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers.
• Transport Policy.
• Transportation Research E.
• Transportation Research Record.
• Transport Reviews.
• Anonymous reviewer for many governmental and private research funding agencies as well as book editors.

Professional Activities

2010-, CPCS Transcom, Senior Consultant

• The planning of a logistic zone in Quebec. Part of a consulting team developing the commercial and management plan, including site selection. Involved in the analysis of freight flows, the required services of the logistic zone and the interaction with North American intermodal transport systems.

2008-2009, Government of Quebec, Ministry of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade

• The planning of a logistic zone in Quebec. Responsible for the analysis of the global trade environment, governance models of logistic clusters and the opportunity of using empty containers on backhaul trade flows.

2008-2009, Kiewit Construction Company

• Business cycles and commodity prices.

2006-, Mi-Jack Inc, Transport Consultant

• Intermodal transport issues. Market potential analysis of new intermodal technologies and operational designs, namely to improve the efficiency of freight distribution.

2003-2005, Gilbert M. Grosvenor Center for Geographic Education (GCGE), Southwest Texas University, San Marcos, Texas, USA. Module Developer

• Co-developer with Dr. Martin Eaton (University of Ulster) of the module “The Global Economy” for the online Center for Global Geography Education (CGGE), a project designed to internationalize the teaching and learning of geography in higher education. The CGGE is being directed by Dr. Michael Solem (Southwest Texas University) with the full support and involvement of the Association of American Geographers, Grosvenor Center for Geographic Education, International Geographical Union, International Network for Learning and Teaching, and the National Council for Geographic Education. Partial funding for this project comes from the National Science Foundation's Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement Program under grant DUE-0231411.

1997-2001, Hofstra University, Dept. of Economics & Geography, Hempstead, New York, USA. Multimedia Project Director

• Direction of a major multimedia project involving a consortium of 5 universities, (Hofstra, Concordia, Montreal, Sherbrooke and Waterloo) entitled : "Transport Geography on the Web / Géographie des Transports sur le Web". Support material for undergraduate Transport Geography courses given in 5 Canadian universities. Project under contract from Industry Canada, NoteMakers: Development of World Wide Web-Based Post-Secondary Education Courses. Part of the Government of Canada initiatitve for the information highway. Value of the project: 89,000 $C. Contribution from Industry Canada: 45,000 $C. 14 students hired to work on the project.
• Joint direction, with Dr. Derek Booth (Bishop's University), for the construction of the Web site: "Geography and History of the Eastern Townships / Géographie et histoire des cantons de l’est". Project under contract from Industry Canada, Schoolnet digitized collections program. Part of the Government of Canada initiatitve for the information highway. Value of the project: 25,000 $C. Contribution from Industry Canada: 20,100 $C. 3 students hired to work on the project.

1997, Concordia University, Dept. of Geography, Montréal, Québec, CANADA. Multimedia Project Director

• Joint direction, with Dr. Brian Slack, for the construction of the Web site: "The St. Lawrence: Maritime Seaway and Economic Centre of Canada". Project under contract from Industry Canada, Schoolnet digitized collections program. Part of the Government of Canada initiatitve for the information highway. Value of the project: 29,000 $C. Contribution from Industry Canada: 25,000 $C. 3 students hired to work on the project.

1996-1997, MuniRessource, Trois-Rivières, Québec, CANADA. Transport Analyst

• Restructuring public transit in a medium-sized city.

1995-1996, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières and COGECO cable company, Trois-Rivières, Québec, CANADA. Multimedia Consultant

• Conception and programming of 2 out of 12 modules of the multimedia course "PPL-1006 The Emergence of the World-System: An Introduction to Globalization".
• This 3 credits course was the first full-standing multimedia course available on the Internet. It includes 1,700 HTML files, 900 links, 400 pictures, figures and maps and 150 real-time video sequences, for a total of 2,000 megabytes of information.
• Supervision of 50 students undertaking the course.
• Project part to the Government of Quebec initiative for the development of the Information Highway.

1991, Royal Commission on Inter-Urban Transportation, Government of Canada. Transport Consultant

• The environmental impacts of inter-urban transportation in Canada.

Grants

• 2008, Research Grant, Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation, The Next Generation of Intermodal Transport Terminal Equipment: An Analysis of Financing Models, 10,500 $US.
• 2001, PricewaterhouseCoopers Business Book Award, (Prix du livre d'affaires, jointly awarded by l'Ordre des administrateurs agréés du Québec), Best French business-related book published in Canada for "L'espace économique mondial", 10,000 $C.
• 1998-2000, Research and Travel Grant, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Transport and the Environment: Problems and Perspectives for Chinese Cities, 18,000 $C.
• 1998, Contract, Industry Canada, NoteMakers: Development of World Wide Web-Based Post-Secondary Education. Transport Geography on the Web, About 45,000 $C.
• 1998, Contract, Industry Canada, Schoolnet Digitized Collections Program. Geography and History of the Eastern Townships, About 20,000 $C.
• 1998, Research Grant, Eastern Townships Research Centre, The Digital Collection of the Eastern Townships Research Centre. About 4,200 $C.
• 1997, Contract, Industry Canada, Schoolnet Digitized Collections Program. The St. Lawrence: Maritime Seaway and Economic Centre of Canada, About 25,000 $C.
• 1994, Ludger Beauregard Prize, Department of geography, Université de Montréal. Best scientific article in human geography.
• 1991-1993, Doctoral fellowship, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). Transportation Corridors in East and Southeast Asian Urban Regions, About 45,000 $C.
• 1991, Canadian Transportation Research Forum, Second prize in the student paper awards.
• 1990-1991, Master fellowship, FCAR. Transportation and Land Use in Shanghai, About 24,000 $C.
• 1990, Canadian Transportation Research Forum, First prize in the student paper awards.
• 1989, Bachelor fellowship, Fonds de Recherche en Santé du Québec.
• 1989, Fonds de Recherche en Santé du Québec, First prize for a research paper.

Dr. Rodrigue's research interests mainly cover the fields of economic and transport geography as they relate to freight distribution. Area interests involve East and Southeast Asia (particularly China) and North America, notably concerning transportation, distribution and trade issues. Specific topics cover transport systems and logistics, global supply chains and production networks, gateways and transport corridors, urban regions, economic integration, international trade and regional development. Current projects involve:

• The Governance of Intermodal Transportation Assets
• The Transport Geography of Logistics
• Gateways, Corridors and Inland Freight Distribution
• Globalization and Transport Terminals